Wednesday, April 10

A story on Natalia Osipova's move to the Royal Ballet by Roslyn Sulcas in The New York Times.

It remains to be seen if Ms. Osipova will put down deeper roots in London, or whether the Royal Ballet appointment — which begins with a performance in “Romeo and Juliet” opposite Carlos Acosta in the fall — means little more than a similar string of guest appearances. The ballerina’s on- and off-stage partner, Ivan Vasiliev, who is also a star, and who left the Bolshoi for the Mikhailovsky with her, has not been asked to join the Royal Ballet but will also move to London, Kommersant reported.

It was thought that the heavily-tattoed dancer, known as the bad boy of ballet, could be in the middle of a meltdown.

However, Graham Watts, chairman of the Critics’ Circle Dance Section, said last week: “It might be a very considered judgement. Polunin has changed a great deal and become a mature young man and an exceptionally charismatic dancer....."

Sigh. You graceful ballerina. What is it about the allure of your long lines, "I got my ish together" posture and cloud-walking glide? Watching a ballerina on the move always reminds us it would probably be a good idea to unfurl our hunchbacked shoulders every now and then (like our moms told us to!). One ballerina we're crushing on in particular? Misty Copeland, soloist at the American Ballet Theater and spokeswoman for Dr. Pepper.

American Ballet Theatre performed Company B in Dallas last year. Were you happy with their version?

I was there when ABT learned the piece and I thought it was very good. There are differences between their style and mine, but it takes years of training to get the kind of weight in the movement that most of my dancers have. I figure if the dance is solid and structurally firm it can stand on its own.

A look at "La fille mal gardée" and the Ballet in Cinema broadcast by Barnett Serchuk for Broadway World.

It wasn't until Frederick Ashton undertook a new creation of the ballet that it finally became an international hit. He referred to it as his "poor man'sPastorale," a lovely reference to Beethoven's symphony where things go from simplicity to thunderstorms and back to normalcy and contentment with the world. He commissioned The Royal Opera House conductor, John Lanchberry, to orchestrate a new score that, while recalling French culture and manners (it did begin as a French ballet after all), is firmly rooted in an English sensibility

A profile of Marshall Ellis, who's making a new piece for Arova Contemporary Ballet.

Ellis had already been grounded in dance, starting jazz, hip-hop, tap, and the like at the age of 6 in his home town of Killen. But Ellis' studies with Therese Laeger at ASFA gave him the background he needed for ballet. He was given the school's highest award – the Prix d'Excellence de Dance – when he graduated. After landing a position with Ballet Austin II, he soon migrated to London, where he received a full scholarship to dance with “Images of Dance” at London Studio Centre.

Sergei told me himself that he’d like to have a go at acting, saying “There is a strong element of acting in ballet anyway and I really enjoy being able to portray a character and getting stuck into a role.” He’s been asked to act in films, he’s won a Russian TV dance show, he’s done nearly-naked photo shoots and he’s admitted to working certain dance jobs that bring in huge amounts of cash. Because of his celebrity status, should he want to pursue other opportunities, he will be able to. To become rich and famous, maybe, to become an actor, or to get so scandalous Hollywood will eventually relent and write his life story. That he will star in. And Zelensky will direct.

Marin Ballet's humble beginning dates back to the 1950s, when Leona Norman, an accomplished dancer, began teaching lessons in a small studio above the old Tamalpais Theatre in San Anselmo. An ambitious woman herself, having danced throughout the world and trained with notable figures in the industry, Norman was determined to bring the standards she knew to her own community in Marin.

Boston Ballet dancer John Lam is coming home to dance for the Marin Ballet's 50th anniversary. "Marin Ballet has been part of my life and career since I was 4-year-old and I think it's great to come back to my hometown and celebrate this amazing anniversary with Marin Ballet," said Lam.

More damagingly, Schaufuss lacks the kind of nuanced inventive dance language that would allow him to delve deeper into the psychological layers of Hayes's story. There is no buildup of tension or menace surrounding Hamid and his sociopathic violence. And for all Schaufuss's reliance on gobbets of Mozart to add depth to Hayes relationships with his friends, and to add a religious dimension to their deaths, the repetitive dance material rarely rises beyond the most basic emotion by numbers.

“There’s a bit more of a similarity between us: Being blond in a darker country made it tough,” Hayes said of Christensen in an interview after the show. “Also, he has this innocent quality that I think really plays.”

“I liked to think that I was sophisticated, but I wasn’t, I was a young fool,” said Hayes, now 66, who is about to publish a book of his jail time correspondence.

A review of the documentary "First Position" by Philippa Hawker for WA Today.

But the event is not the be-all and end-all of the film: Kargman doesn't milk its various stages for drama and tension. She is more intent on showing us the lives and gifts of of half a dozen young dancers who come from very different backgrounds.